EOBRs & Car Shipping Cheaters

First, what is an EOBR? It stands for Electronic On Board Recorder, and it is a very important change for the transportation industry. It will soon be a mandatory replacement for the paper logbooks commercial drivers are required to maintain. Before this technology was developed, drivers have been required to keep accurate logs of their work schedules, but many have taken up the practice of “cheating” the logbook system. I’ve personally heard stories of drivers with multiple logbooks, so when they are asked by any law enforcement officer for their license, registration and logs they’ll have “proof” they aren’t over hours.

If any of you are like my mother, you find it nerve racking to drive by a large truck on any highway in America. She first thinks “how long has this guy been awake” then “I wonder if they ever get good rest” and so on. Well, now drivers will not have the ability to cheat on their logbooks, and information can be accessed remotely by company management and DOT officials. This should give people like my mother slightly more confidence in the trucking industry.

So, why does this matter to me when it comes to shipping my car? I’m glad you asked! Some people simply don’t understand that vehicle shipping is not the same as dropping a letter in the mail. Yes, there are thousands of trucks on the road in this country. Yes, most places in America have access to these auto transport companies and their main routes. Yes, most of these companies are professionally run. However, the pressure on car shipping companies and drivers to meet customer demands causes many to cut corners. This post is more to educate the general public that drivers need more accountability to ensure safety, and that this EOBR requirement will more than likely create a backlog of customers looking to ship their vehicles.

Consider this, trucks only make money when they are loaded and rolling down the road. If a driver has to stop to remain “in hours”, then it stands to reason that costs will go up. So, reverse analyze that thought process for a minute. When you are shopping for a carrier or broker to serve your vehicle shipping needs, who do you think will be able to offer the lower prices on a regular basis? Do you think it’s the carriers that are playing by the rules? Or, does it make more sense that the lower car shipping prices will come from the companies cutting corners? Maybe they aren’t cutting corners on their logbooks. Perhaps they aren’t carrying adequate insurance. Or, it could be that they are a decent company with no desire to make money (sarcasm). Food for thought.